11 noteworthy in-house career moves

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission hired Stephanie Tsacoumis as general counsel. Tsacoumis previously spent three years as the vice president and general counsel of Georgetown University. Before joining the university, she was a corporate partner and, for six years, co-partner in charge at Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher.

Global IT consulting company Ciber appointed Sean Radcliffe vice president and general counsel. Radcliffe most recently was vice president, chief legal counsel and compliance officer for IHS Inc., a business information services company. He previously served as general counsel and corporate secretary at the technology firm Choice Seat.

Carey O’Connor is now senior vice president, general counsel and secretary of Flowserve Corp., a supplier of industrial and environmental machinery. O’Connor joined the company in January 2003 and has served as its vice president and corporate secretary since May 2011. She replaces outgoing GC Ron Shuff, who is retiring next year after almost 25 years with the company.

Missouri State University named Penni Groves general counsel, effective Jan. 1, 2013. Groves joined the university in 2004 as legal counsel and has served as interim general counsel since July 2011. She previously worked in private practice at the law firms of Millington Glass & Love and Daniel, Clampett, Powell & Cunningham.

ACA International, a trade group representing debt collectors and creditors, appointed Robert Foehl vice president and general counsel. Foehl most recently spent nine years heading up Target Corp.’s legal, corporate compliance and ethics practices. His prior work experience also includes stints at U.S. Bancorp, Piper Jaffray and the Federal Reserve.

The College of the Holy Cross named Vincent O’Rourke general counsel, effective Jan. 2, 2013. O’Rourke has represented the Worcester, Mass. college since 1982 as a partner at the law firm of Bowditch & Dewey. He also served as the secretary of the Holy Cross Board of Trustees between from 1998 to 2000, and has been the college’s acting general counsel for the past five months. Before entering law firm practice, O’Rourke was a member of the appellate section of the Department of Justice’s civil rights division.

Other In-House Moves

C. Douglas Kranwinkle, the general counsel of Univision Communications, announced that he is retiring after more than 12 years with the company. Kranwinkle came to the Spanish-language media company after an 11-year stint at O’Melveny & Myers, where he served as partner and—for five of those years—managing partner. From 1968 to 1988, he was a partner at Munger, Tolles & Olson.

Robert Bauer, the general counsel of President Barack Obama’s re-election campaign, is headed back to New York University Law School in the spring to teach a seminar on political reform. Bauer is currently a partner at Perkins Coie’s Washington D.C. office. He served as White House Counsel between 2009 and 2011 and also was President Obama’s personal lawyer.

Syracuse University’s senior vice president and general counsel, Thomas Evans, will retire in June 2013. Evans assumed his current role in 2006, but has represented the university since 1972, while working at Bond, Schoeneck & King. In 1986, the firm named him the senior partner in charge of Syracuse University matters.

Keith Williamson, general counsel of Centene Corp., will also assume the titles of executive vice president and secretary. Williamson, who joined the healthcare company in 2006, also sits on the board of PPL Corp., an energy and utility holding business. His prior work experience includes an 18-year stint at Pitney Bowes Inc., where he last served as president of the company’s capital services division.

Law Firm News

James Brelsford, chief legal officer and senior vice president of IP licensing at SanDisk Corp., will join Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom as of counsel in the intellectual property group in the firm’s Palo Alto, Calif. office. Brelsford, who joined SanDisk in 2007, previously was executive vice president of corporate and business affairs at Hands-On Mobile Inc. and a member of Jones Day’s technology transaction practice group.